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Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Sleep Tips

Greening your bedroom

Since we spend a third to half our lives in our bedrooms or personal space, it makes good sense to make it as healthy as possible. Sleep deprivation has been proven to lead to number of health problems such as high blood pressure. The body needs sleep to replenish the damage of the day can do.

Making your bedroom eco-friendly consists of making many little changes to the decor of the room. This includes getting organic bedding, made with natural cotton, wool and latex, restored furniture, “green” paint, wood floors, natural fiber rugs, energy-efficient light bulbs, a dimmer switch and cotton pajamas. Surrounding yourself with natural fibers, pieces of furniture without glue or chemicals and paints with low- or no-volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) and organic cotton pajamas is a great way to keep your bedroom free of indoor pollution. Small steps like these help ensure that you are getting the most of your sleep experience.

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Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous

Answers to “Where do you put your cell phone when going to bed?”

Following up with our previous blog post about sleeping with cell phones and why it isn’t a good idea, we
decided to poll the sleep snobs at CozyPure and see what their nightly routine is when it comes to “putting
their phone to bed.”

Here are the individual responses, to the question, “Where do you put your cell phone when going to bed?”

  • Cheryl – “I place mine on the bottom of the nightstand with a shirt over it so that the light will not distract me. I also have notifications turned off – the only sound that is on is the actual ringer. I started sleeping with it in the bedroom when my daughter left for college in case she needed to call. Before that I didn’t even bring it in to the bedroom at night. Sometimes I will listen to sleep/meditation music on youtube but I still keep it covered.”
  • Troy – “Wherever it ends up. I don’t really pay much attention to where it is when I go to bed. It just stays wherever I last used it.”
  • Susan – “I plug it in to charge in the bathroom in my bedroom. This way the light does not disturb my sleep but I can hear it if I get a call.”
  • Diane – “I plug it in on the nightstand.” We are going to have to make her read the last blog post!
  • Debbie – “Just wherever.” Debbie is our newest team member, she’ll learn to talk more to survive!
  • Sherry – “On the nightstand, on silent.” That’s a no-no, Sherry.
  • Cris – “In my purse on the floor because it is not good to have it on the nightstand.” Cris is a seasoned sleep snob.
  • Angela – “It is always on silent and usually on the floor beside the bed, although I’m guilty of falling asleep while scrolling through Facebook. How else will I know who to vote for?”
  • Hans – “In the other room, on the charger.” Perfect!
  • Rudy – “I just plug it in to charge on my nightstand.  If it rings, sometimes I answer it and sometimes I ignore it.”
  • TJ – “On the nightstand charging with the volume sky high. I want to make sure I don’t miss anything.” TJ is a popular guy!

Although research shows that a high percentage of people go to bed with their phones, we are not the norm (but we already knew that). Maybe it is because we all have such a love affair with our CozyPure mattress that we embrace sleep or maybe it is just because we are educated on all matters sleep related. Whatever the reason, I am glad to report that no one at CozyPure sleeps with their phone.

Coming soon: It claims to be organic. What does that really mean?

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Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Organic Mattress & Bedding Sleep Tips

Sleeping With Your Smart Phone May Not Be So Smart

There are articles in the news every day about sleep – how to get more of it, why it is crucial, how to do it better, ways to enhance it – it’s how we spend a third of our life. In a The-Sleep-Revolutionrecent article “Book Talk: The Sleep Revolution,” on Washington Life Magazine’s website, Erica Moody talks with author Arianna Huffington about her book, “The Sleep Revolution.”

From the article, “In 2014, people around the world spent a staggering $58 billion on sleep-aid products, a figure projected to rise to $76.7 billion by 2019, author Arianna Huffington says. Not only do many Americans not get enough sleep; when they do try to sleep, an increasing number are relying on pills to get there. When Huffington herself collapsed from “sleep deprivation, exhaustion and burnout” in 2007, she decided to do something about the issue. Her fascinating, accessible and necessary book “The Sleep Revolution” (Harmony Books) delves into the current crisis, the history of how we got there, the science of sleep and how we can begin to change the role of sleep in our lives.”

The article includes a question and answer session with the author addressing key points from the book. One topic that is discussed is that of “unplugging” and how our phones keep us up at night. This is a topic I see often in sleep news. Not only are we so accustomed to staying connected via our smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc., social media provides an outlet for us to waste precious time that could otherwise be spent sleeping. The author suggests that sleeping with your smart phone may not be so smart.  Rather putting our phones “to bed” in another room will allow us to sleep better. I know that having my phone on my nightstand is a horrible idea. Not only am I distracted when it lights up, buzzes or dings, I can’t always resist the urge to check social media one last time or type out one more email or listen to one more song. Going to sleep without your phone is not only a good way to get to sleep faster it also gives your mind a much needed break from the constant communication to which we’ve become accustomed.phone on bed
Katy Hall, Managing Features Editor, Huffington Post, cites in her 2013 article, “How Mobile Phones Affect Sleep,” a study concluding sleeping near our phones also has negative physical implications even if we don’t touch it. “If your phone wakes you up in the morning, it may also be keeping you up at night. A 2008 study funded by major mobile phone makers themselves showed that people exposed to mobile radiation took longer to fall asleep and spent less time in deep sleep.” Her article also discusses the aforementioned “need” to stay connected and how it is costing us valuable sleep. An additional resource cited in this article indicates that “nearly three-quarters of young people fall asleep each night with their phones within reach.”  We may all have a hard time convincing a teenager that they will actually live through the night without their phone but  it really is a habit to be discouraged.  Older (and wiser) cell phone users may be easier to convince that “unplugging” for eight hours each night may be well worth it.

There is plenty of research, articles and books that discuss healthy sleep habits.  Taking a break from your electrical devices is certainly a step in the right direction.  Once you break that habit, take the time to research the importance of the materials you are sleeping on.  Many mattresses and bedding materials are just as full of junk as your social media.  Sleeping on natural latex and using organic bedding not only provides better, but a more healthful, sleep!

Coming soon – How “smart” are the sleep snobs at CozyPure?  We know about a good mattress but where are our cell phones when we are sleeping?  I’m going to poll our staff…

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Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Made in the USA Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Home Organic Comfort Products & Sales Woman-Owned

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift: SLEEP

It is no secret that moms are some of the most sleep-deprived people in the world. They tend to juggle responsibilities all day and spend countless hours at night thinking about how to juggle even more. Studies show that mothers with small children are seriously lacking sleep, which over time can have some pretty negative effects on both physical and mental health. No matter how old her children, mothers tend to continue the habit of putting others needs before their own. Instead of shopping for the trendiest new gift of fashion or settling for the obligatory flowers, why not give Mom what she really wants (and needs) – SLEEP!
Just in time for Mother’s Day, CozyPure has assembled a bundle of some of our most popular items for the sleep deprived mom. We’ve paired together:Mother's Day Bundle

  • Our best selling LaNoodle pillow, the perfect pillow for Mom – it is adaptable to any type of sleeper, made with all natural latex and organic cotton (no harmful chemicals) and simply the coziest pillow to be found – and designed to last up to 10 times longer than conventional pillows
  • Our ever popular Pebble Pique Travel Blanket which is handcrafted in our Virginia workshop and made from luxurious Organic Cotton Matelasse and beautiful like Mom
  • Organic Lavender Linen Spray, soothing aromatherapy to relax Mom’s mind, body and spirit

This trifecta is the perfect Mother’s Day gift and will arrive packaged in our kraft bag with a complimentary handcrafted note card.

Due to the handcrMothersDay_online cardafted nature of our items, we can’t guarantee delivery by Mother’s Day on orders received after May 1st. However, Mom will agree it’s worth the wait. In the meantime, you can print out a gift announcement HERE to put in Mom’s card notifying her that the gift of sleep is on the way!

Our products are sustainable, natural and organic and made in the USA, and our company is woman-owned by a mom that grew this company while raising children of her own. She thinks sleep is the perfect gift and every mom is sure to agree!

 

The retail price for the items in this bundle is $133 – the Mother’s Day Bundle is being offered for $99.  Valid until Mother’s Day 2016.

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Eco-Tips Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Products & Sales

The LaNoodle Pillow Education

I consider myself a country boy with a broad, somewhat worldly perspective. I was born in Maryland. I grew up in North Carolina and Virginia. There are some things country folk are known for, but healthy lifestyles has never been one of them. That being said, I know that there is a certain amount of education that has to occur for someone like me, when it comes to organic products and healthy living. Add to that, I am an overweight, type 2 diabetic, which is a further indication that I do not have a great track record of making healthy choices.

But I’m still fighting to change all that. I’ve cut out fried foods as much as absolutely possible. I’m eating more kale than any ten human beings around me at any given moment these days. Hell, I even got a bike for Christmas … and I’m actually riding it. I’m getting healthier is my point.

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I’m not much of a sleeper, but the LaNoodle pillow is teaching me that a healthy life begins with healthy sleep.

So, coming to work at CozyPure has been a huge step in the right direction and a graduation to another level of educating myself about healthier living. And let me just preface the rest of this by saying that listed on my chart of medical conditions is occasional bouts of insomnia. These bouts have been so frequent that I’ve sort of written off the notion of getting a lot of healthy sleep in my life. But as I’ve learned in a short period of time of working and researching sleep issues at CozyPure, it is definitely something I need to pay more attention to on my quest to healthier living. More sleep equals more energy. And more energy equals more weight loss. I’d clearly neglected a vital link in the chain to a healthier me. I need to solve this whole sleep conundrum.

Step one to solving this mystery has been sleeping on CozyPure’s bestselling LaNoodle pillow. While I can’t speak to the science of what tiny, little latex noodles masterfully stuffed in an organic casing should do for helping you sleep, but I feel tremendous after sleeping on one of these organic gems.

My neck pain has reduced greatly, as the LaNoodle cradles my rather bulbous head and shoulders in a way that makes drifting off to sleep a much less daunting task. With each passing night of sleeping on the LaNoodle pillow, I value sleep a bit more. And that is huge for me.
I don’t think any other product could’ve affected that change in me.

Sleeping on my new LaNoodle pillow, I begin to think maybe my sleep woes are more a case of I’ve been doing it, but I haven’t been doing it with the right tools. I guess it’s the equivalent of eating your farm fresh peas with a fork with only one tine. You can get it done but it probably could be done better with a spoon. So I’m thrilled I turned in my old pillow for a CozyPure LaNoodle pillow. It has opened the door to the school of healthy sleep. I can’t wait to see what CozyPure’s entire sleep system has to teach this country boy.

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Eco-Tips Environment Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Made in the USA Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Fibers Natural Home Organic Apparel & Textiles Organic Clothing Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Products & Sales Renewable Energy Sleep Tips

You Want To Make A Difference?

Ever wonder what you could be doing to make the world a better place? Do you think that you probably won’t make a difference no matter what you do because you are just one person and how could you? Well, here is some news for you: YES, you CAN make a difference in the small things that you do everyday. Take small steps for humankind that one day might turn into leaps and bounds. For now, I can only do my best in making an impact on my local environment, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to reach out and make an even bigger difference in the lives around me.

1. Treat others as you would like to be treated. This saying is as old as the dirt beneath our feet and it rings true in most every aspect of our lives. If you aren’t treating someone the way that you would like to be treated then you’re just begging for karma to bite you in the butt.

2. Volunteering is something that can make a huge difference in your community. You can volunteer at an animal shelter, a homeless shelter, a woman’s shelter. You can volunteer at the library, it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, but it does have to count for something, even if it only counts for something in your own heart.

3. Donate your old clothes and toys or your kids old toys to local shelters and thrift shops. Everyone who shops at these places will appreciate your items, or at least someone will.

4. Consider buying free range meat if your not trying to become a vegetarian. Organic and whole foods are not only good for you but also for the environment from which they are grown. If you really want to make it count, shop at your local farmer’s market every once in a while and put your dollars into the local economy.

5. You can take shorter showers, wash full loads of dishes and laundry at once, assure your leaky faucets get fixed, and stray away from buying plastic bottles without the intention to reuse or recycle them. Purchase a water bottle that you can refill over and over again.

6. Sure conserving water is great, but why stop there? Go further in conserving your electricity by turning the lights out when leaving a room, recycle old bottle and cans, throw away your cigarette butts, reduce your waste output in general. Try composting.

7. Plant a tree, who knows, it could provide hope or at least shade.

8. Make your vote count, and by that I mean that if you can vote then you should. Voting is one way that everyone can make a difference in their community for the better. Remember that every vote counts, even yours.

9. Speak your mind. Expressing your opinion will get you respect so long as you stand by it, and it can make a serious impact on those around you.

10. Sleep organic. Remember, there is no better place to begin your quest in saving the world than in your own bedroom, so shop now and look for ways to improve your bedroom with natural latex bedding and various other forms of comfort for the mattress.

Now its your turn to make a change in yourself and in your community. You want a revolution? Get out and go and get it!

 

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Eco-Tips Environment Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Fibers Natural Home Organic Apparel & Textiles Organic Clothing Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Sleep Tips

Dear Sleep Diary

For those of you who can not get to sleep at night, or who have an incredibly hard time doing it, a sleep diary might not be such a bad idea. You see, the pros of a sleep diary include getting to know when and how you are falling asleep each night, what you might be doing during the day that is keeping you from sleeping, and it can help you figure out what you could do in order to attain a good nights sleep.

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1. Buy a journal. You can pick one up anywhere – Walgreens, Target, anywhere…

2. Get your hands on a pen or a pencil. Again, you can get these items anywhere.

3. First, figure out what time you woke up, and jot it down in your journal. You might find that if you’re sleeping in too late then you might have a harder time getting to bed early.

4. Now think about what time you went to bed last night. If you have to wake up early, you might want to consider getting to bed earlier if you aren’t already.

5. What did you do before you went to bed. Do you have any specific routines? Perhaps reading a book or taking a bath will be able to put you to sleep for the night, and help to turn off your mind.

6. How long before your bedtime did you eat and what was it. Sometimes a glass of milk and a PB&J sandwich will help settle your stomach, sometimes a shot of Vodka can upset it. Remember, coffee before bed might not be the best idea.

7. How active is your lifestyle? Do you exercise often? If you do, how long before bed do you exercise? Remember that our bodies need exercise to keep us healthy, just try and make sure you aren’t doing it right before bed because it will get all your blood pumping and your heart racing and you’ll find yourself feeling as if you have just downed a cup of coffee.

8. Did you wake up during the night at all? If so, for how long? How many times? Perhaps you suffer from a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea that should be checked out by a doctor.

9. What kind of mattress are you sleeping on? Is it springy and broken down? Maybe its time to purchase a new one, one that will last for over ten years. Remember, you spend a good third of your life on your mattress, so you’re going to want to get a decent one to snuggle up with. Think of choosing your mattress and bedding like you are choosing your spouse, you want it to be reliable, and you want it to be there for you, ready to cuddle up with at the end of a long day.

Besides helping one figure out what they might be doing wrong in terms of falling asleep, a sleep diary is also efficient in helping reproduce one’s dreams. The first thing that you must do upon waking up in the morning is to jot down whatever comes to mind about the dreams that you had last night. As time goes on, you’ll find that it is getting easier and easier to remember your dreams, and as more and more time goes on you might find yourself able to control your dreams better.

So, there are multiple reasons to keep a sleep diary, and now you can go out and try it for yourself. Good luck and goodnight!

cuddling-article

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Eco-Tips Environment Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Fibers Natural Home Organic Apparel & Textiles Organic Clothing Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Products & Sales Sleep Tips

Echoes of a Dream

Many of us have escapes that we use to get away from our day-to-day lives, and many of those escapes can be as simple as reading a book or watching a movie. Music, however, for the most part, seems to be universal in helping many people deal with their emotions. Music, and lyrics, and singing, and all kinds of different tunes can help a person either mentally prepare for a big event (like listening to your favorite jams before a big event) or to help you mellow out at the end of a long day. Music is great for break-ups as well as hook-ups. In fact, you could probably find a song to fit every occasion.

online-yoga

Studies have proven that when listening to music, the dopamine in peoples brains is activated, making us want to listen to more and more of it (unless, of coarse, the song is Friday.) However, no one has been able to figure out exactly why this is because while dopamine is activated during activities such as eating good food, or during exercise. If you are a gym rat, like myself, then you will understand how music can heighten one’s workout experience. As for myself, I will never understand those who are able to run on the treadmill or dead-lift without some awesome tunes ringing through their ear buds, but that might just be me.

So why is it that music gives us such a sensation that we feel the need to listen to it almost every day, at work, on the way to work on the way home from work, in the bath, in the bedroom, in the club. It’s almost like music was programmed into human DNA, and gives many of us a natural rhythm that can’t be defined by mere statistics of race or ethnicity (because some white boys can dance.) There are many different dynamics to music too, like sad, slow songs that you for some reason can’t get enough of and love to cry along to. There are fast tracks with pumping melodies and soaring chorus’ that make you feel like the universe is your oyster. Of course, there will always be that one boring song on an album that you skip every time that it comes on (OK, not always because sometimes an artist is that good.) I think it’s safe to say that for the most part, music gives us feelings.

These feelings can translate into our night lives too, because if you go to bed in a sour mood your probably not going to sleep very well, while going to bed in a neutral or happy state of mind can make for pleasant dreams. You might find that falling asleep to your favorite rock track can be a difficult feat, and that’s because its probably not designed to create delta waves in your brain which will help one fall into a deep slumber. White noise such as crashing waves and a ceiling fan can help to lull a person into the world of sleep, but classical music can also induce a person into this state. There are many things that you can find on the internet that will aid in helping a person sleep, and many musical compositions that can be found on YouTube and various other sites that can move this process along. Getting the proper support from your mattress and pillow and finding the necessary comfort are also factors that contribute to how fast one might fall asleep – besides the obvious how tired you are.

The Natural Transformation by Tomorrow's World

Some of these internet tracks are very interesting and might even carry over into dreamland. Listening to a song that remind you of the ocean could put you on a raft in the middle of the Pacific, while listening to some jungle oriented vibes could place you in a safari, among the beasties of the forest. Give it a try, listen to a soothing rhythm tonight that will help you drown out the world around you and escape into the realm of sleep.

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Eco-Tips Environment Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Fibers Natural Home Organic Apparel & Textiles Organic Clothing Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Products & Sales Sleep Tips

Swaddling Security

A baby Rhino was taken into custody at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center in South Africa, and now can not sleep without being attached to his female keeper at all times. The Rhino was found after poachers killed his mother. He was found lying down with his head crying on his mothers dead body, and now, can not escape the depression that swallows him. Why he needs someone there when he eats and sleeps and breathes, well maybe you would too if your mother was violently poached directly in front of your eyes for her horn.

rhino

Everyone takes comfort in knowing that somebody is there to protect them, or to watch over them. Think about it, it is in our nature, not just as humans but as animals, to need to feel protected or to protect, and when that feeling is threatened then we will obviously become restless. Have you ever tried to sleep at night without a blanket on top of you? Some of us do, and some of us sleep naked, but for the most part, even on hot nights, a blanket or a sheet will provide a person with a sense of security that will help to soothe them to sleep. In fact, depending on your self-esteem, this feeling might weigh you down throughout your day to day life.

I remember back to my middle school days when I would feel extremely uncomfortable or anxious if I was not wearing a jacket that zipped all the way up to my neck. Why? Because I was afraid of people seeing me, and hurting me because perhaps I wasn’t dressed right or what not. The fact of the matter is that in the end, humans are self-conscious beings who need to feel that they have some control over their lives at all times. This shines through in the animal kingdom, and in this case, the baby Rhinoceros who needs to feel protected at all times because his mama was butchered.

Why do babies especially feel this need to be protected? Because they are defenseless…

fitted sheet swaddle

For starters, babies do enjoy the feeling of being constricted, or hugged, or swaddled even. Many parents believe that swaddling is no good for their infants health, but in fact it promotes neuromuscular development, and reduces crying by 28%. Most of all, though, is that babies are found to sleep better when swaddled. This same theory applies to adults also, not that we need to be swaddled, but the feeling of security can be a welcome sensation in our lives, both day and night. Science says that cuddling provides us with the sense of security that we need in order to make us feel good and safe in our own bed, which will eventually translate into our real lives outside of the bedroom.

Now don’t get me wrong, cuddling does not always have to be done with a person. Sure, if you want that release of Oxytocin that the soft touch of another human can give to you, then yes, it should probably involve another, willing, person. However, snuggling up with one’s La’noodle pillow at night will not bring you any harm and can still help ease you into sleep with a better sense of security and comfort. Wrapping yourself up in a warm wool comforter on a comfy cozy bed can do wonders for you as you fall into a deep sleep.

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Eco-Tips Environment Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Fibers Natural Home Organic Apparel & Textiles Organic Clothing Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Products & Sales Renewable Energy Retailers Sleep Tips

Oxymoron: Summer Cold

We have all suffered through it: The Common Cold, and yet, why is it that still there is no cure for the aching and stiffness of one’s body? The best that we can do is stay in bed all day and drink juice and sleep and watch our favorite T.V. shows or read our favorite books and magazines. However, that is not good enough for a lot of us, especially after the second day or so of lying in bed. Many of us have to get back to work, get back to school, return to our everyday duties so that we can resume our lives and hopefully retire on a beach some day – and from there we’ll figure out what to do with the rest of our lives once we get bored doing even that. So, what do we do? We resume our lives and our cold does not get any better. In the Winter, if treated the right way, a cold might be gone within a couple of days to a week, with lingering symptoms for the next month or so.

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A summer cold can be very different. Many of us will want to go outside in the nice summer heat, which is great, you know, soaking up that Vitamin D while sipping on a cup of orange juice and falling asleep in the sun perhaps; however, research shows that transitioning from indoors to outdoors might want to be kept to a minimum because the conversion from hot air to cold air can dry the protective mucus lining in the nose, so be careful about air conditioners. Also, as we all know, the key to fighting any cold is rest, just sitting back and letting your body work out the wonders. But, as we all know, Summer tends to be a very busy season. There are so many social things going on, so many beach days that you don’t want to miss, and of course staying in beach body condition is a full time job to begin with. So what are we supposed to do when we get sick> Miss out on all of the fun summer activities that we won’t see for a whole year after Summer has ended? Think of all the Barbeques that you will miss if you take a whole week off for your health!

Well, you can always hide your symptoms by chasing a musinex with cough syrup, but in the end we have to face the facts that the symptoms can not be buried for long and eventually we have to face the ugly truth that modern medicine can’t even defeat the common cold. Still, there is one thing that one can do, every night for a week. That’s right, you guessed it: assure that you are getting the proper rest. Rest is the key to recovery and although we can’t take a whole week off if we want to save up our vacation days, we also can make sure that so long as we are getting a full night’s sleep every night until we are better, then the rest of the Summer will be much, much more enjoyable, and memorable, when we aren’t pumped with Day-Quill.

CozyPure can assure your proper Summer rest with our variety of inviting Organic Latex Mattress‘ and pillows and blankets, etc.. Our products are naturally dust-mite resistant so that your not inhaling debris as you sleep so long as you know how to wash your sheets. Our organic cotton and wool products are not drizzled with petroleum and our sheets not doused in formaldehyde, so there are no unwanted, uninvited, uncalled for chemicals to interfere with your body chemistry.

Of course, you can sweat out a summer cold in the heat of the sun, in a sauna or a steam room. Light exercise is not prohibited for those trying to stay in shape for the Fourth of July; however, workouts that are too intense can deplete the body of energy needed to fight the disease. Remember, though, sleep – sleep – sleep! Get well and enjoy your Summer!

comforter